Dennis C. Smith, Jr. Bariatric Surgeon MD, FACS, FASMBS

He has been great. I am an out of state patient, and they are very aware of my specific challenges. He is understanding and makes you feel great. Oh, and the staff, they are just wonderful. One has had the DS and one the RNY. Both are so willing to share their experiences. I did have problems with my insurance approval process and if it wasn't for Donna's encouragement, I might have given up. They also have an on-line support group where a nurse from the office is a moderator, so that can answer a lot of questions as they come up (kind of like this site on a smaller level).

Dr. Smith was very professional as well as his staff. All of them worked very hard to achieve all that was expected of them.

5-7-01 Dr. Smith is such a kind man and has such a gentle rapport with patients. My mother was even impressed with him. He took plenty of time to address my questions and was so very helpful. I would recommend him to anyone!
5-25-01 Released from the hospital today without complication one. Dr. Smith was the kindest, most compassionate doctor I have ever met (and remember, I'm a nurse, so I know plenty of doctors.) I would recommend him to anyone and everyone!!
9-27-02 I still LOVE Dr. Smith as a surgeon, but his office staff has been difficult to deal with. He has recently separated from the surgical group he was working with, and I believed that maybe the rotten staff issue would change. Wrong. I have been treated rudely even by the new office. I was told their office policy is to use the diagnosis "obesity" for as long as you are a patient. Well, duh...don't most insurances deny claims when that is used as the diagnosis? The insurance clerk says that is the ONLY diagnosis they can use...and almost implied that I was asking her to falsify records by asking her to use the diagnosis of "check-up" or something similar for my one year check-up/labwork. Anyway, I no longer will be able to see Dr. Smith for any problem and have it covered by my insurance. I already am having to pay over $680 for lab work that would be covered if they would file under a different diagnosis. Even though Dr. Smith is so great, you may need to weigh the pros and cons of using him if you want your follow-up care to be covered as well as your surgery.

Dr. Dennis Smith is a wonderful surgeon. My sister is a Dr. and she located Dr. Smith for me. She observed the surgery and was very impressed both with the procedure as well as his skill.

At first, I did not have a good impression of the staff, but after going there and actually meeting them, they have been very nice and helpful.

Dr. Smith is very concerned about close follow-up after surgery. He wants to see you once a month for first six months.

Pryor to surgery, you are required to view two videos that address exactly what to expect from the surgery.

I would say that Dr. Smith has both surgical competance and good bedside manner.

Dr. Smith was wonderful. He was kind and was genuinelly concerned about my well being. His staff is just as wonderful. His nurse Linda is amazing. She was right by my side from the time I got to the hospital until I woke up in recovery. She too has had the procedure so she knows what I was going through. Dr. Smith was very open about the procedure making sure that I understood what was going to take place. He also made sure that I knew what complications could occur and that this was not a fix, but an assistance tool. He talked with me and my husband at length about aftercare and gave us a large packet that we could refer back to if more questions came up. He has a very structured aftercare program that includes regular visits to his office. I do not think that I could have found a better Dr.

I am on the waiting list to be seen. It has been three weeks since my first call. From what I have read, I am going to have to be patient. I am hoping to get an appointment time by next week as I have moved up from number 600 on the waiting list to 5 as of this week. I cant wait. 6-20-02

I met with Dr. Dennis Smith on July 26th. My first impression of him was professional. He seemed kind and caring. His office staff was very nice. She had had the duodenal switch surgery herself. She had lost over 100 pounds. That made me feel good. I can't say that there was anything about Dr. Smith that I did not like. I think he appreciates a patient that has already done some of the research and comes into the office visit prepared. He stressed aftercare as being very important and they have programs through his office and on-line, which was nice for me since I am out of state. He addressed my risks, but I also knew that my risks of staying at my current weight far outweigh(no pun intended) the risks. I would rate him a 9 out of 10 because nobody is perfect. I would much prefer surgical competence to beside manner. He is very businesslike in his bedside manner and I appreciated that. I would not want someone who was always cracking jokes. I would highly reccommend this man so far.

He seems competent, knowledgeable and compassionate. He is very quiet so it is hard to form a strong opinion of him, but I do not have any negative feelings towards him. His office staff is friendly and helpful. I'm impressed with his aftercare program. He has a support group for patients who are both pre-op and post-op. He did address the risks and benefits of all the surgeries that he performs, and because of this I feel I have made an informed choice.

DR.SMITH WAS VERY CARING AND UNDERSTANDING. HE REALLY WANTED TO HELP ME AND THE OTHERS THAT WERE IN MY CONS.GROUP

THE MORE I SEEN HIM THE MORE I REALLY LIKED HIM.

THE GIRL HANDLING THE SCHULE I WAS A LITTLE UPSET WITH BECAUSE SHE KEPT TELLING ME SHE WAS WAITING ON THE INSURANCE; I TOLD HER THAT I HAD BEEN DEINED AND I WAS GOING TO BE SELF PAID; BUT SHE STILL WAITED ON THE INSURANCE TO SEND THE LETTER SAYING THEY WOULD NOT PAY; BEFORE SHE GOT MY SURGERY DATE

Dr. Smith seems to be a very competent surgeon. He is a member of several organizations and has a list of credentials
that is about 3 or 4 pages long. In fact the office he was formerly at trains surgeons all over the world laporospic surgery.

As far as Dr. Smith as a person, he has sort of a dry personality. But he is a very knowledgeable man. That comes out when you talk with him. I had several questions and he answered every one without stuttering or looking for answers. He is very open and honest. He tells you the good with the bad. Doesn't hold anything back.

Right now Dr. Smith is in the midst of changing offices. So things are a little unorganized. But everyone has been extremely nice. It is a little hard to get in touch with someone in the office but as soon as they get settled things will be ok.

Dr. Smith is very concerned about safety. You have to have several pre-op tests done and surgical clearance from a Pulmonologist and a cardiologist before they will even schedule the surgery. He also wants you to try to lose some weight before your surgery. Your liver is the first to respond to weight loss. Therefore it makes doing the surgery laporospicaly easier.

05/09/2002
WELL TODAY I CALLED DOCTOR DENNIS SMITH'S OFFICE AND GOT ON THE WAITING LIST, I AM IN A WAY EXCITED ABOUT THE THOUGHT OF HAVING A NEW LEASE ON LIFE, AND BEING ABLE TO ENJOY MY LIFE BETTER BECAUSE I WONT BE MORBIDLY OBESE, AT THE SAME TIME I AM SCARED OF CHANGE, IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE. MY MOM DIED IN JULY 2000 AT A TOP WEIGHT OF 400 LBS, I CAN REMEMBER HER HIGHEST WEIGHT BEING 545 LBS. SHE JOINED A SUPPORT GROUP FOR OVER EATERS, AND SHE BOOMERANGED UP AND DOWN WITH HER WEIGHT (WHICH IS ALSO VERY UNHEALTHY) AND I DONT WANT TO FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS,
MOST OF MY TEENAGE AND YOUNG LIFE I WAS NEVER OVERWEIGHT, THE HIGHEST I USED TO WEIGH WAS ABOUT 130, THEN I HAD TO HAVE A HYSTERECTOMY AND 10 YEARS LATER THE WEIGHT IS HERE (I AM 291 LBS ON A SMALL 5'1 FRAME) I HAVE 2 TEENAGE BOYS WHO NEED ME AND I WANT TO BE ABLE TO SPEND LIFE AND ENJOY LIFE WITH THEM. SO WITH GODS HELP I WILL HAVE THE SURGERY AND BEGIN TO CHANGE MY LIFESTYLE AND GET MY "HEALTHY LIFE" BACK. I WILL KEEP YA'LL POSTED ON MY PROGRESS!